Product Description

Find out how successful companies like Disney, Nordstrom, and Kinko's have triumphed by heeding Mom's timeless advice.

Mom. She's the quintessential leader. She not only manages, but she teaches, nurtures, sustains, and guides. She patiently taught us right from wrong as well as how to think, to care, and to be decent human beings. In this eye-opening guide, a leading business writer and consultant shows us how great companies have excelled by embracing timeless values--and how, in an age of increasing cynicism, the time is right for thinking like Mom. Filled with sage advice from top business leaders and based on in-depth research and personal interviews, Wear Clean Underwear illustrates how successful businesses--including Disney, Kinko's, and 3M--have triumphed by heeding Mom's advice:

Southwest Airlines bucked industry trends and succeeded--by listening to Mom's If All Your Friends Jumped off a Bridge, Would You Jump off One Too?

When outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia began to outgrow its own values, character, and style, its CEO made an extraordinary decision, taking a lesson from Mom: Don't Get Too Big for Your Britches.

Nordstrom is virtually unmatched in its reputation for customer service. How do they do it? In part from following Mom's great adage: I Don't Care Who Made This Mess, Just Clean It Up!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1197128 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-08
• Released on: 2000-02-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Amazon.com Review
Columnist and consultant Rhonda Abrams believes today's most successful businesses are shifting from a patriarchal style of leadership to one in which characteristics such as growth, development, maturity, and nurturing--all traits traditionally associated more often with mothers than fathers--have moved to the forefront. Wear Clean Underwear: Using Mom's Fundamental Lessons to Run an Extraordinary Business is her light-hearted but utterly serious examination of this continuing trend, matching familiar motherly maxims like "How do you know you won't like it, if you've never tried it?" and "Don't get too big for your britches" with actual managerial practices at companies such as Nordstrom, Kinko's, and 3M. "Moms everywhere have developed an almost universal language to achieve their goals and instill common values," she writes.

Virtually everyone's mother at one time or another told them to "Clean your plate, children are starving in China" or whatever country happened to be in the news. Think about all the lessons in that one little line: don't waste your resources, understand that you are more fortunate than others, empathize with those who have less.

In this clever volume, Abrams shows how such wisdom can be both relevant and useful in today's business environment. --Howard Rothman

Review
"Full of sound business advice."
--Inc.

"Funny and insightful."
--Detroit Free Press

"Fascinating profiles of companies."
--People -- Review

Review
"Full of sound business advice."
--Inc.

"Funny and insightful."
--Detroit Free Press

"Fascinating profiles of companies."
--People

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Customer Reviews

Insightful, intelligent, entertaining
Even if you're not interested in business, you'll get a kick out of this book. The stories are great, some very touching. But if you are interested in business, you'll learn a lot and find new ways to make your business fit your values. Who knew Mom was so smart?

The business textbook with integrity and heart!
If you snickered at the title Wear Clean Underwear, you are not alone. Who could resist the pull of familarity of mom's wisdom?. We go back and remember our childhood, and read on to see the foundation of a solid future. This is wisdom like no other. Wear Clean Underwear is the best business book I have read. Rich with examples from real life and big business, this book is all you'll ever need for genuine business success. Wear Clean Underwear is about integrity and character, and you can bet you'll learn about, cheer, and affirm both as you walk through the pages of this book. You will find it warm, inspiring and full of business "smarts." It is a nourishing book stocked with lots of meat and potatoes, and delivers some mighty fine just desserts. And even though its wisdom has come down through the ages, Wear Clean Underwear is one of a kind, fresh, and current. I'm sure it's a book that'll be around for a long time, and probably for all time. It is a fun and joyful read that gives light to the business of making money while doing what right. And this book is right on, right on time.

Wonderful
This book is delightfully encouraging about the human race. As a secretary for 40 years and having worked for many large/small companies, have never encountered the kind in this book. There was humor and to my surprise I needed kleenex for the touching moments.